Blazers 136, Spurs 106: When Damian Lillard attacks

Summing it up: Damian Lillard established himself as the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year well before Friday’s meeting at the AT&T Center. Indeed, Stephen Jackson called him a shoo-in earlier in the day at shootaround. Then came the game itself, in which Lillard savaged the Spurs for 35 points, nine assists and zero turnovers. Three other Blazers (29-32) scored at least 20, adding up to the most lopsided home loss of the Tim Duncan era.

Player of the game: Are you kidding? Lillard could have earned the nod in the second half alone, during which he scored 25 points with five assists. It would be overstatement to say Lillard played perfectly; he did miss eight shots. But in terms of efficiency and production, it would be impossible to level any meaningful criticism. At 22, he put his sub-.500 team on his back and led them to a 30-point road victory over a championship contender.

The turning point: Lillard traced his second-half onslaught to a pair of free throws in the third quarter. “I remember when I made (them) the ball felt really good in my hands,” he said. They came early during a stretch in which Lillard scored or assisted on the final 14 points of the period. He followed that with 14 points, including a back-breaking 3-pointer after the Spurs climbed to within 12.

Continuation

* About the only real positive of the night came before tipoff, when head coach Gregg Popovich said he thinks Tony Parker will beat the four-week recovery window for his sprained left ankle. Parker later told Express-News NBA columnist Mike Monroe that he ran on a treadmill for 15 minutes earlier in the day with no ill effects.

* The Spurs (48-15) hadn’t lost that badly at home since a 125-92 drubbing by Toronto on Feb. 12, 1997 — a span of 635 games. That, of course, was the season that would eventually yield the ping pong ball for the right to pick Duncan. The Spurs have allowed more points only once since 1990, a 137-97 rout at Portland last season in which Popovich rested Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili.

* The ugly details for San Antonio’s defense, or lack thereof: 61.6 percent from the floor, 61.9 percent on 3-pointers, 10 turnovers forced, 79 points allowed in the second half, 46 points allowed in the fourth quarter, 139.9 defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions). The Spurs had been ranked third in defensive rating at 98.3. Said Jackson: “Our defense was terrible. That’s not the way we play defense.”

* It certainly wasn’t the warmup the Spurs had been hoping for with arch-rival Oklahoma City coming in on Monday. Despite trading James Harden before the season started, the Thunder lead the Association in offensive efficiency at 113.0 points per 100 possessions. “We have a tough game coming up,” Tiago Splitter said, “so this served as a warning for us to play better…on the defensive end.”

* Besides Lillard, the Blazers also got huge contributions from LaMarcus Aldridge (10 of his 26 points in the third quarter), J.J. Hickson (19 of his 23 in the first half, 11 rebounds) and Eric Maynor (season-high 20).